Kindred
by Matrix3
Summary: A new character appears in Blade’s side but will he be an ally or enemy? (5th in a series)
1. Kindred Part 1

This story takes place some time after Bad Spark. Basically everything is the same, except that the aliens haven't taken Tigatron and Airazor. All Beast Wars characters are property of Hasbro, Mainframe and Alliance, but all others belong to me, the author.  
  
The Reunion Part 1  
  
His mind raced with thoughts of the Ancients. It had been two years since the discovery of the existence of these beings. It was pure chance that led to it, but now it seemed that the cube had proved a theory that the scientists back home had had. Another thought popped into his mind. He had lied to the Maximals about not knowing anything else. Should he tell them what he knew? After a minute of thinking, he decided it was not time yet. He had to know first if it was indeed them, and gather whatever information he could before he did, just in case he was wrong. His attention switched to his comlink as it came to life.  
  
Optimus: Joh.uh, Specter- could you please meet us at the bridge?  
  
Specter: I am on my way.  
  
Specter reaches the bridge and sees most of the Maximals there.  
  
Specter: You called?  
  
Optimus: Yes, we have detected a stasis pod in sector Tern. And I want you, Silverbolt, Rattrap, Dinobot, and Cheetor to go and get the pod.  
  
Rattrap: Is it really necessary to send four of us for just one pod?  
  
Optimus: It is a precaution, just in case the Preds or Blade's group show up. The rest of us will stay here to keep an eye on things.  
  
Understanding, the assembled Maximals nod and go on their way. Silverbolt gives Specter a ride on his back while Rattrap converts to his vehicle mode and does the same for Dinobot.  
  
Silverbolt: Uh, Specter I want to...I want..  
  
Specter: Yes?  
  
Silverbolt: I want to thank you for not saying anything about Blackarachnia and I.  
  
Specter: It is not my place to tell, but sooner or later, the truth will come out. It is best you tell the others soon before it causes trouble for you.  
  
Silverbolt: I shall try.  
  
Specter: .We have reached the spot where the pod is.  
  
Silverbolt lands and transforms as soon as Specter gets off his back.  
  
Silverbolt: I am detecting the pod, but I do not see it any were..  
  
Cheetor: Let's hurry before the Preds arrive, then.  
  
Inferno's voice: Too late for that, Maximal! The pod will be ours; the Royalty has commanded it!  
  
Inferno arrives, along with Waspinator, Quickstrike and Megatron.  
  
Megatron: The pod belongs to us now.  
  
Blade (Appearing): Man, You guys are so predictable. Both groups detect a pod and you come a running to get possession of it. But I have some bad news for you- there is no pod.  
  
Blade pulls out a black electronic box.  
  
Blade: You were detecting this. It has been programmed to emit the same energy signature of a Maximal stasis pod. And before you ask, the reason for luring you here is to test a new toy of mine.  
  
Before the Maximals and Predacons could react, a energy wave of some kind hit them and sent them into stasis lock. Specter, who had not been affected, stepped in front of the unconscious Maximals.  
  
Blade: Why do you keep insisting on helping these.these things?  
  
Specter: I would not care if you had just decided to kill the Predacons, but the Maximals are a totally different matter. Do not forget their ancestors- the Autobots defended us from the Decepticons.  
  
Blade: And who do you think brought them to Earth in the first place? We could stand here and debate on the subject, but it would not make a difference. After all, Maximal or Predacon, it does not matter to me who I destroy. We have to go for now- after all, the test was a success. See ya.  
  
Specter: .We?  
  
A figure appeared behind Blade. His armor was just like Blade's and Specter's, except that his coloring was gray. Both Blade and the unidentified person disappeared to where they had come from, leaving Specter alone with the nonfunctioning Maximals and Predacons.  
  
Rattrap and Dinobot catch up not soon after.  
  
Rattrap: What happened here?  
  
Specter: I do not know, exactly. Blade showed up with someone I had not seen before, and they used some kind of energy that knocked the all of the Transformers here out.  
  
Rattrap: What about the pod?  
  
Specter: There was none to begin with. It was a machine that Blade had, which emitted the same energy signature of one. There is no reason for us to stick around any longer.  
  
Dinobot: But this is a perfect opportunity to take Megatron and some of his minions into our custody!  
  
Specter: I agree, but we can't carry them, plus Cheetor and Silverbolt at the same time. And if Blade's group decides to attack us while we are carrying them it, would be a handicap for us.  
  
Dinobot snarls, seeing that Specter was right, as he heaves Cheetor over his shoulder. Specter does the same for Silverbolt and they return to the Axalon. Cheetor and Silverbolt are placed in the CR chamber one at a time as soon as they arrive, after which a report of the events was made.  
  
Optimus: .So they have some kind of new weapon, a companion, and a device that gives the same signature of a pod? Is there anything you can tell us about them?  
  
Specter: Sorry, I have no clue regarding that.  
  
Optimus: Very well. But if you find out something, we would appreciate it if you told us.  
  
Specter: Sure. By the way, Rhinox, did you find out anything about the cube I brought in?  
  
Rhinox: All I was able to find out is that its composition is a type of metal that is not in our data banks. I even tried to scan its interior, but the results were inconclusive.  
  
Rhinox hands him back the cube.  
  
Specter: Huh? Why are you giving me the cube back?  
  
Rhinox: You found it, so it is yours.  
  
Specter cocks his head in a quizzical manner, after which he nods and heads out of the control room with the cube in his possession.  
  
Rattrap: Is there a reason why you gave him back the cube?  
  
Rhinox: From what I gather the cube only turned into its current shape when Specter interacted with it. Therefore, I feel that it is important that it be in his possession.  
  
Optimus: What do you think will happen?  
  
Rhinox: I do not know, but I feel that the answer might come soon.  
  
Specter reaches his quarters and sets the cube on a metal desk inside. Having done so, he heads out for his assigned duty of scouting a region referred to as sector Torous. The region was a forest with many varieties of plants and animals that were strange to him, although some looked like those he had known on Earth. The area was quiet from activity, which he was grateful for, since he had many things to think about. Time passed as he tried to decide on what thing he should think about, but he was unable to, since there were many of them. Just as he was about to decide, he felt that he was being watched.  
  
Specter: .You can come out. I know you are there.  
  
From the shadows, out came the new person that Specter had seen with Blade. He let him get closer while keeping his guard up for any attacks.  
  
Stranger: I see that you have good instincts.  
  
Specter: It's something I picked up. What's your purpose here?  
  
Stranger: Just to talk.  
  
Specter: Sending a message from Blade?  
  
Stranger: He does not know I am here with you.  
  
Specter: What is it you want to talk about.uh.what do you want me to call you?  
  
Stranger: You can call me Rogue. I want to talk about what has happened to us.  
  
Specter: Why come to me?  
  
Rogue: I do not know, but I just got the feeling that I could trust you with this instead of them.  
  
Specter: Very well, you have my attention. So what do you want to know?  
  
Rogue: I know we were human once, and that we were dead when they did this to us. So what are we? Are we just shadows of our former selves?  
  
Specter: I also thought about that, and I can not give any answer that you might be happy with. The only thing I can tell you is that death does not happen right away. In other words, even though the body might be dead, there's still life somewhere inside. I know it is not much, but that is all I can tell you, and I hope it helps.  
  
Rogue: .No, not really.  
  
Specter: By the way, what was that thing you used to make the Predacons and Maximals go into stasis?  
  
Rogue: That was a modified electro magnetic field, or EMF for short.  
  
Specter: I see. You should head back now, before you are missed.  
  
Rogue: Yeah, I suppose I should. And thanks for the help.  
  
Specter: No problem.  
  
Specter, after waiting for a while after Rogue left, spoke.  
  
Specter: You can come out now, Dinobot. So, how long where you listening?  
  
Dinobot, in his beast mode comes, out of the bushes.  
  
Dinobot: I just got here- and it is a good thing, since I knew that you could not be trusted, human.  
  
Specter: I hate to sound cliché, but this was not what it looked like.  
  
Dinobot: Consorting with the enemy is a traitorous act!  
  
Specter: This coming from a guy who can not decide on which side to be?! What do you do, flip a coin to see what side you are going to be on?  
  
This comment infuriated Dinobot, causing him to roar in a feral manner as he lunged towards Specter. Specter jumped out of Dinobot's reach just as he tried to bite him with his razor sharp teeth. Dinobot quickly transforms into his robot mode and takes out his sword and rotary shield.  
  
Dinobot: Now I shall show you what happens to traitors, human!  
  
Specter: First of all, I am not a traitor! And second, he came to me, not the other way around!  
  
Dinobot, not listening, responds with a snarl and swings his sword in an attempt to cut Specter in two, but Specter takes out his wrist swords in time to block the attack. Specter follows this by using his right leg to kick Dinobot away. Dinobot falls to the ground, but gets back up quickly and renews his attack by somersaulting over Specter. He then tries to behead Specter, who had ducked in time right before he swept Dinobot off his feet, causing him to once again fall.  
  
Specter: This time, stay down.  
  
Dinobot responds by firing his eye lasers at Specter, which hit him and send him flying backwards.  
  
Specter: I'll take that as a no. I did not want to do this, but you have given me no choice!  
  
Specter gets up at the same time as Dinobot does, and before Dinobot has a chance to react, Specter moves with such speed that it makes him almost look like a blur. Caught by surprise, Dinobot unsuccessfully tries to stop the onslaught of kicks and punches that rain down on him, until a final kick from Specter sends him crashing into a tree, knocking the Maximal reptile offline. After this, Specter carries Dinobot back to the base, since he knows it would not be a good idea to leave him behind in that condition. When he gets to the Axalon, Dinobot is placed in a CR chamber. Optimus, Rhinox and Rattrap are there to greet him when they arrive.  
  
Rattrap: What happened to Lizard Lips?  
  
Specter: I did.  
  
Rattrap: Huh?  
  
Specter: I ran into the new guy that was in our last encounter with Blade. He had some questions about what was done to us, and he hoped that I could answer them. Any ways, not soon after he left, Dinobot showed up and attacked me, thinking that I was a traitor- so I had to defend myself.  
  
Rattrap: That is just like him, always jumping the gun. You do realize he'll be furious when he gets out of there, right?  
  
Specter: Yesm but I can deal with it. Anyways, I learned something from him.  
  
Optimus: And what is that?  
  
Specter: The device that was used on Silverbolt, Cheetor, and the Predacons uses an electro magnetic field to affect you.  
  
Optimus: I'll have Rhinox see if he can make something to protect us from that.  
  
Specter: Good. I'll be in my quarters if you want me.  
  
Specter heads into his quarters to rest. The ability he had used to defeat Dinobot had caused him to become somewhat tired, due to the energy required to execute it. Laying down in his bed, he let his mind drift into slumber, since he had the feeling that he would need all the energy he could muster later on. 


	2. Kindred Part 2

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All Beast Wars characters are property of Hasbro, Mainframe and Alliance, but all others belong to me, the author.

****

Kindred Part 2

The next day, as the sun broke the horizon, the morning stillness was suddenly disturbed by the piercing scream of a furious raptor. 

Dinobot: WHERE IS HE!? WHEN I GET MY CLAWS ON HIM I SHALL TEAR HIM APART!!

Optimus: Just calm down, Dinobot! 

Dinobot: He was with the enemy!

Optimus: I know about that, and it was not what you think. Specter explained what happened.

Dinobot: And you believed him?!

Optimus: He has not shown us any reason to doubt him!

Rattrap: Unlike _someone_ we know…

Dinobot just snarls at this comment as he walks away towards his quarters, just missing Specter, who enters the room.

Optimus: I was just about to call you.

Specter: About?

Optimus: I just wanted to ask you if you could man the monitors with Rattrap and Cheetor while the rest of us go out on our patrols.

Specter: I will do what is required of me.

Optimus: Thanks.

****

Some time later

Rattrap: I can't believe you agreed to do this! It is the most boring assignment anyone can do!

Specter: While I am here, I must make myself useful to you Maximals.

Cheetor: Do not mind Rattrap, he is always like that.

Rattrap: And what is that supposed to mean, kiddo?

Cheetor (smirking): Oh, nothing…

Before Rattrap could make another comment, the comlink suddenly come to life.

Optimus:_ ….Ambushed….. send help…. *fzzt*_

Cheetor: Bigbot, come in!

A moment of silence followed and no reply came.

Rattrap: This is just great. Silverbolt, Airazor and Tigatron are too far to get there in time, so it is going to have to be us.

Specter: Someone has to stay behind to keep an eye on things, and it should not be me, since I am not too familiar with the systems.

Cheetor: I can get there faster, so I go too.

Rattrap: I'll be watching over the _Axalon_, then. 

Specter and Cheetor take off and head to the last position that Optimus, Rhinox and Dinobot had reported from. When they got there, the area had remnants of a recent battle, but there was no sign of Dinobot, Rhinox, Anolis or Optimus.

Cheetor: Where are they?

Specter: It looks like they have been captured.

Cheetor: How do you know?

Specter: Some of the blasts were caused from electrical bursts, and since there is no wreckage, it means that Blade has them.

Cheetor: If Blade has them, we should find their ship and get our friends back!

Specter: That would be a problem, since it is cloaked and is never in the same place for a long period of time….

Cheetor: Then what do we do?

Specter: Luckily, I had the feeling that I might one day need to go back there, so I set up this device so I could find it no matter where it was. 

Specter takes out a handheld device and pushes some buttons on it.

Specter: The ship is northwest from here.

****

Some time later, at a sector called Morex

Cheetor: …So where is the ship?

Specter: It is here, on this mountain.

Specter points to a spot on the mountain that they were near, but Cheetor sees nothing

Cheetor: How can we find an entrance if we can not see it?

Specter: You might not be able to see it, but I have the ability to do so. Now let me see if I can remember where that emergency hatch is... Oh, here it is.

To Cheetor, it looked like Specter pushed some buttons before he seemingly climbed into the mountain and disappeared from view.

Specter: Well, are you coming?

Cheetor: Um, where is the door?

Specter: Here, take my hand.

Specter's arm became visible, and when Cheetor took hold of Specter's hand, he was gently led into a darkened corridor.

Cheetor: Won't we be detected? 

Specter: Don't worry about that, I have also taken care of that. They should be keeping them in the brig, which is this way.

The two of them went in the direction that would lead them to the brig, while being careful not to be spotted by anyone. When they got to the brig, they found Rhinox kneeling down over Anolis while Optimus and Dinobot looked on worriedly.

Optimus: How you get in here?

Cheetor: With Specter's help, it was easy. What happened?

Optimus: Anolis is seriously wounded, and he might not make it unless we get out of here soon.

Specter: I have to turn off the energy shield that is keeping you in there first. Let's see…. that should do it.

When a noise indicated that the shield went down, Rhinox picked up Anolis as gently as he could and stepped out into the corridor with the others. 

Cheetor: Now all we have to do is go back the way we came in, and with any luck, no one will have noticed that we are here yet.

A nearby door suddenly opens and Blade steps into the room, followed by Shocker.

Blade: You just jinxed yourself with that comment, kitty. Besides, I knew that you were here the moment you entered the ship. You did not seriously think that I would be foolish enough to not take any precautions after you decided to join their side, Specter?

Specter: You did make a mistake, and that was letting us get this far!

Specter takes out his wrist blades and advances on Blade and Shocker.

Specter: You guys go on ahead while I keep them busy! I will follow as soon as I know you are clear! 

Dinobot: You will not face them alone!

Specter: Do not tell me you are starting to like me….

Dinobot: Far from it human, I am just keeping an eye out for my fellow Maximals.

Cheetor hurriedly led Rhinox and Optimus, who were carrying an unconscious Anolis, out of the room.

Energy surged as Shocker shot a bolt of energy towards Dinobot, who dodged in time. Dinobot countered by lunging and plunging his sword into Shocker.

Shocker: Big mistake, you should have kept your distance!

Energy went through Dinobot's systems, threatening to shut him down. This did not go unnoticed by Specter, who at the moment was fighting Blade. Thinking quickly, Specter grabbed Blade by the arm as the latter tried to punch Specter and threw him towards Shocker. This dislodged Dinobot and in the process knocked Blade into Shocker, thus sending him unconscious when he got electrocuted. Before Shocker could realize what had happened and remedy the mistake he had done, an energy bolt went through him and sent him flying forward. 

Rogue: That was in its low setting. I do not think you want to see what this baby can do at full power!

Specter: We should get going before they recover!

With that said, they got out of the ship and made it back to the _Axalon_ with no trouble. When they got there, Optimus was already waiting for them.

Specter: How is Anolis doing?

Optimus: He is doing well, now that he is in the CR chamber. This would have ended differently if it were not for you and Cheetor coming to our aid. Now that this is settled, who is that with you?

Specter: He calls himself Rogue, and he helped Dinobot and I deal with Blade and Shocker.

Optimus: In that case, I would like to welcome you to the _Axalon_.

Rogue: Thank you. I will help in any way that I can.

Dinobot: We can not just trust him! He might be…..

Rattrap: Not this again!

Specter: Look, if it makes you feel better, I will take full responsibility for whatever he does.

Dinobot (growling): I will take your word on that, human, but do not think that things have been settled between us.

Optimus: Well, now that that is settled, Specter, can you show him to the room that he will stay in? I will see what Rogue can help us out in in the meantime.

Specter: Sure.

Specter (as they walk away from the room): What made you choose to come over to this side?

Rogue: The others are insane in their ambition, and besides that, I do not really think all those things Blade says about the Transformers are true.

Specter: That is good. By the way, what kind of rifle is that you used on Blade?

Rogue: Oh, this is a rifle that I made. I call it the nexus rifle, and you can have it if you want it.

Rogue hands the rifle he had slung over his shoulder by a strap to Specter.

Specter: Thanks, but are you sure?

Rogue: Yes. Besides, I can make another one if I want to. 

Specter: I will take care of it, then.

Rogue: It has two settings. The first is just a machine gun, and the second is an energy pulse rifle which, at its highest setting, can do a lot of damage-- but you only get two shots before it needs recharging.

Specter: Okay, and thanks again. Well, here is your room. Mine is next door, so if you need anything, feel free to come and talk to me.

Rogue: Sure, and thanks.

With that said, Rogue entered his room, and Specter was left to carry out the other duties Optimus had given him, not knowing what the next couple of days would have in store for him…


End file.
